BYU football previews, recaps, and analyses

Menu

Let’s face it BYU fans – it kills us that Utah has been invited to go play with the big BCS boys, and now we are left at the kiddie table of the MWC. It was all well and good when we were stuck there together, but now that Utah is heading for greener pastures, being the #1 team in the MWC seems like a booby prize.

Both BYU and Utah have a right to claim that they are the better program. Bronco Mendenhall has found a way to make BYU football great, year in and year out. Never before has BYU posted 4 ten win seasons in a row. That’s right, not even under Lavell Edwards. Utah hasn’t been so consistent, but when they have done well, they have been perfect. We’ve gotten a lot of ridicule for the slogan from two seasons ago, the “Quest for Perfection.” It’s ironic that Utah was able to have two perfect seasons, capped with BCS bowl wins, and BYU has been great, but not quite perfect. And it’s killing us as fans.

I recently read an article that listed BYU fans among those with the most unrealistic expectations. Darn straight. Our expectations have been raised by the incredible performances of the last several years. Bronco Mendenhall was very welcome relief from the Crowton years, which we’d all love to forget. In fact, my favorite memory of that time – Matt Payne laying the wood on unsuspecting returners, is marred by the fact that the only video I can find of him is a youtube video posted by a Boise State fan gloating about their win.

So Bronco comes in. Brings back the old style uniforms and traditions. Brings us back to conference dominance. Brings us to a level of execution where we expect ten win seasons year in and year out. How many programs can you name where that is a realistic goal? Well, they’re doing it. So for the BYU fan, 10 wins is now a given. Anything less than that will be disappointment. Beating Utah – obviously a must.

The problem with Utah going to the Pac10 is that, even if we continue to play them after they’re gone, even if we beat them, they will still be in the BCS conference, and we will not be.

BYU needs to win games to show the world that the Pac10 was wrong for choosing Utah. The only way to make any difference is to show that we have a better product on the field. We’ll need to take down Washington and Florida State. We must figure out TCU, and kick Utah’s trash on their way out of the conference on the end of the season. Finally reach that Quest for Perfection. That’s all that’s in our power right now.